“I know that this has been some of the conventional wisdom that’s been floating around Washington: That somehow, even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable, that most people agree that I’m presenting a fair deal — the fact that they don’t take it, means that I should somehow do a Jedi mindmeld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right. Well, they’re elected. We have a constitutional system of government.” – President Obama

Obama bluntly stated today that “it’s because Republicans in Congress chose this outcome over closing a single wasteful tax loophole that helps reduce the deficit. Just this week, they decided that protecting special interest tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected is more important than protecting our military and middle-class families from these cut.”

Hi, everybody. On Friday, I met with leaders of both parties in Congress to try and find a way forward in light of the severe budget cuts “” known in Washington as “the sequester” “” that have already started to inflict pain on communities across the country.

These cuts are not smart. They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs. And Congress can turn them off at any time “” as soon as both sides are willing to compromise.

As a nation, we’ve already fought back from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, and we’ll get through this, too. But at a time when our businesses are finally gaining some traction, hiring new workers, bringing jobs back to America “” the last thing Washington should do is to get in their way. That’s what these cuts to education, research, and defense will do. It’s unnecessary. And at a time when too many of our friends and neighbors are still looking for work, it’s inexcusable.

Now, it’s important to understand that, while not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away, the pain will be real. Many middle-class families will have their lives disrupted in a significant way.

Beginning this week, businesses that work with the military will have to lay folks off. Communities near military bases will take a serious blow. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who serve their country “” Border Patrol agents, FBI agents, civilians who work for the Defense Department “” will see their wages cut and their hours reduced.

This will cause a ripple effect across the economy. Businesses will suffer because customers will have less money to spend. The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage. Economists estimate they could eventually cost us more than 750,000 jobs and slow our economy by over one-half of one percent.

Here’s the thing: none of this is necessary. It’s happening because Republicans in Congress chose this outcome over closing a single wasteful tax loophole that helps reduce the deficit. Just this week, they decided that protecting special interest tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected is more important than protecting our military and middle-class families from these cuts.

I still believe we can and must replace these cuts with a balanced approach “” one that combines smart spending cuts with entitlement reform and changes to our tax code that make it more fair for families and businesses without raising anyone’s tax rates. That’s how we can reduce our deficit without laying off workers, or forcing parents and students to pay the price. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. It’s the kind of approach I’ve proposed for two years now. A majority of the American people agree with me on this approach “” including a majority of Republicans. We just need Republicans in Congress to catch up with their own party and the rest of the country.

Now, I know there are Republicans in Congress who would actually rather see tax loopholes closed than let these cuts go through. And I know there are Democrats who’d rather do smart entitlement reform than let these cuts go through. There’s a caucus of common sense. And I’m going to keep reaching out to them to fix this for good.

Because the American people are weary of perpetual partisanship and brinksmanship. This is America, and in America, we don’t careen from one manufactured crisis to another. We make smart choices. We plan. We prioritize. So I’m going to push through this paralysis and keep fighting for the real challenges facing middle-class families. I’m going to keep pushing for high-quality preschool for every family that wants it, and make sure the minimum wage becomes a wage you can live on. I’m going to keep pushing to fix our immigration system, repair our transportation system, and keep our children safe from gun violence.

That’s the work you elected me to do. That’s what I’m focused on every single day. Thanks.

Both sides are getting want they want? Really? You really think President Obama wanted Dems not to show up to vote in the 2010 midterm leaving him to deal with a Tea Party dominated House that he is constitutionally required to deal with? This country’s wallet is in the pocket of the Tea party and that is a reality the President has to deal with.

” These cuts are not smart. ” No there not, but there his cuts. Rather than focus them on the military as was done in a similar situation a long time ago he chose to spread them around to the people who can least afford them. ” It’s happening because republicans chose this outcome over closing a single wasteful tax loophole. ” No! It’s happening because he made it happen it was his stupid idea. ” We have a constitutional government. ” Not any more. He has the nerve to talk about constitutional government after Simpson/Bowles. ” Entitlement reform. ”… Read more »

The only reason you might lose that bet is because “entitlement reform” appears to be a given. The Progressive Caucus is the only one that seems to be against it, which is to say that there is no group of congressmen who are against it who will actually vote against it.

Do you really believe that all the turmoil that has happened since the GOP took over the House in January 2011 would have happened if Nancy Pelosi had stayed Speaker? Do you really think the sequester happened in a vacuum? Is your memory really that short? I won’t even comment on your use of the word “lazy” to describe President Obama!

No, I don’t, but then I don’t believe that if she were Speaker right now and Mitt Romney were President that she would be offering any resistance, either. Any Speaker who would unilaterally take impeachment “off the table” is clearly not interested in exercising political power for any purpose besides acquiring more.

The Republicans, at least, understand the role of a political opposition. What they stand for is absurd and in some cases despicable, but they’re willing to stand for it. That’s why they’re winning.

Wow! You think their winning? Have you seen the polls lately? They are not winning they are obstructing, they are destroying! People like you don’t seem to get that building something better moving forward takes longer and requires more effort. What the GOP tries to do doesn’t! When your only goal is destruction well then the bar you you is much lower. The House is under the control of a suicide squad who think they were sent to DC to blow the place up.

They’re getting what they want. To me, that’s winning in politics. You clearly think it’s just a game, but the reason politics exist is to shape a society, not to see who has the most seats in Congress.

Cujo359: Game? I take my politics seriously! This is no game, this is deadly serious. There is a fundamental flaw in your logic. How many seats your side has in Congress absolutely matters. You have to win the argument which enables you to win the politics which in turn enables you to make the societal changes you seek!

No, it doesn’t matter. For starters, neither is “my” side. Neither represents the interests of me or most people in this country. Beyond that, though, how you use the power you have is as important as having it. As I wrote about Nancy Pelosi, when you refuse to use your power to help both your party and your country, if you have that power it doesn’t matter. That’s why the Democrats no longer have power in the House. They refused to use it to make a difference when they could. Now they can’t. The score doesn’t matter here. It’s only… Read more »

Your choice of the word “lazy” to describe this President invalidates everything else you said in that post because we now know where your opinion of the man is coming from. For the record this President has taken fewer vacation days than any recent President but are facts to a person such as yourself?

“For those of you keeping score at home- Obama flubbing a SciFi reference=silly, stupid non-story which just demonstates how anxious some people are to find a “gotcha” moment against a politician they dislike. Marco Rubio reaching for a glass of water= hilarious fail and evidence that he could never be President of the United States. Legitimately snarkable. Ah, partisan hypocrisy. Gotta love it, because hey, it’s clearly here to stay.” For those of you keeping score false equivalency once again used as in ‘they both do it” or “there isn’t any difference between the parties” Ah hypocrisy. Gotta love it,… Read more »

Before I comment, let me reiterate, I didn’t vote for Obama for either term. I’m a Hillary Clinton supporter, have been for a very long time. She was even my Senator. Also, I am as critical of Obama as anyone here for his easy forfeiture of the social safety net in the so-called Grand Bargain or any bargain he settles with the GOP. But, I am still a Democrat. I feel like saying that here is like coming out of the closet all over again. 🙂 That said: jinbaltimore, a couple of days ago in this thread http://tinyurl.com/c7lrmgu you dissed… Read more »

With all due respect returned, going to have to disagree on a couple of things. Can’t speak for the others you mention, but, for me, it’s about the policies and positions as opposed to personalities. If Paul Krugman suddenly changed his tune and started preaching austerity, I would no longer think him wise. I was a Hillary supporter in 08 too, but, if she decides to run in 2016, I’d have to hear an update from her on a variety of issues (e.g. drones) before supporting her again. Also, the tribal argument you make is one of false equivalency. If… Read more »

“Also, the tribal argument you make is one of false equivalency. If there is a “tribe” of 3rd party supporters out there, it has little to no voice in the media yet and certainly isn’t funded by Wall Street as are the other two.” Nice try. 🙂 But, baloney is still baloney in a baloney sandwich. 🙂 Being part of a tribe has nothing to do with power. Being part of a tribe is a simple thing, you identify with a group and adhere to certain customs, behaviors. On the internet, there are tribes as I’ve described above in my… Read more »

If I’m reading your baloney 🙂 correctly, the definition is met with people simply having things in common.To me, more than that is required. It’s supporting policies you once derided just because your team is now implementing them.

And, as far as the tribes go, with all due respect (and I mean that) it’s also not a far stretch to conclude that you, Cujo, fangio and jjamele are just as tribal as those you continually chide about their memberships. Well, with all due respect, if I’m part of a tribe then you should be able to identify it, instead of just making some vague accusation. Go ahead, check my blog, check my comments here over the years, even go back and look at what I wrote at FireDogLake and Corrente. Oh, wait, here it is: We all belong… Read more »

In my life experience I have found that individuals who use the phrase ” my friend, ” are usually backstabbing, two faced, slime balls. One more thing; tribes are all about power and control. I am not a progressive, but if I were part of a tribe opposing progressives I would do everything in my power to remove them from the face of the earth. I would then spray the planet with some sort of weed killer to keep them from growing back, my friend.

“Well, my friend, that’s not a tribe at all. That’s a set (in the mathematical sense) of people who think along similar lines” You can twist and shake it until until you burn it, my friend, but a tribe is a tribe is tribe. “That’s a set of people who think along similar lines” (and not a tribe according to you, Cujo): well, that IS one definition of a tribe. LOL What do you and others want to achieve with your posts? Do you want to encourage others and influence them to understand your rational arguments and see (and, cherry… Read more »

Overall I agree with the point – the focus on Obama’s “mind meld” comment and Rubio’s drink of water are both examples of the media focusing on silliness over substance. Rubio’s reaching for a glass of water doesn’t mean anything about his political potential. One thing I would say with Rubio though is the “water incident” showed a lack of preparation, not necessarily by Rubio but by his team. People who do a lot of public speaking know they might run into this situation and think about how they will handle it. Part of the trouble was Rubio looking so… Read more »

“One thing I would say with Rubio though is the “water incident” showed a lack of preparation, not necessarily by Rubio but by his team. People who do a lot of public speaking know they might run into this situation and think about how they will handle it. Part of the trouble was Rubio looking so guilty getting the water. and having to reach off camera Optics have been important since Kennedy-Nixon, that’s just the way it is. The incident showed how the GOP is still playing catch-up to the Democrats when it comes to using television effectively.” Seriously, I… Read more »

As has been pointed out by SciFi Nerds…President Obama was CORRECT!!! There IS a Jedi mind meld.
Not being a Sci Fi NERD but only a minor fan I was unaware of that FACT so this in fact is an even WORSE indictment of the Main Stream Media of the absurd.
OY!!

The reference is to something called a Force meld, which only appears in some of those Star Wars novels that most of have never heard of, let alone read. While it does seem to have the powers Obama was discussing, I think it’s clear that wasn’t what the President was referring to. If it had been, he and the White House could have just said so, then castigated the rest of us for our profound ignorance.

1. Who the hell is this royal “we” you are talking about? You speak for yourself, and ONLY yourself (more often than not I would add “Thank God.”) When I want you to represent my opinion of another poster, I’ll ask you personally (don’t hold your breath.)

2. You are the LAST poster to snark on someone’s “deep, informed, thoughtful opinion,” Mr. Republiklan/teabagger fecal matter BWAHHAHAHAHAAHHA. Jesus, talk about calling the kettle black.

Re #1…Clearly and obviously you align yourself with the train of non-thought and talking point hackery I was commenting on. OF COURSE you would not be included in the “we” denoting informed, thoughtful posters. Sorry if you misunderstood and thought you were.

Re#2…You have a problem with accurately defining the groups and quality of discourse they espouse? Interesting.
I also recall no reference to the finish on cookware?!